Things Are Never What They Seem
by Ale798
Summary: We all think we know everything about our life and the people in it, but things can be different than how they seem. It sounds cliched until something happens to you that puts things into a new perspective. Annabeth thought she knew how bad her life was, that is until someone showed her how worse things could be. What if that same person was the key to showing her a better life?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hi guys! I'm trying out a new story! I promise to try to be better with the updating, no more waiting months for a new chapter, I'm terribly sorry about that. I was having a serious case of writer's block, to the point where I wanted to take the whole thing down. But anyway I finished that, and decided hey why not play around with this idea. In this world there isn't much use of powers, if any at all, I do believe I'm going to stick to the mortal sides of the characters, but I will try to attribute their powers to their mortal selves. Now given that there is such limited space for writing a summary for this story, I failed to mention the following; so a quick disclaimer: There are some dark areas implied in the story (rape, mental/physical abuse, etc.) I won't be going in depth into it, it's not one of those stories, but the topics are in there, so just saying. There is a bit of intimacy in the story, but no lemons. Quite frankly I'm too awkward even thinking of how to describe such things, much less actually write it down and make a good scene, so also not that kind of story (sorry/ you're welcome depends on how you see it). Okay well that's it from the top of my head, so enjoy!**

Chapter 1

The band around her finger felt cold and alien like, it never did seem to take her mold; some days it seemed a little too loose, others a little too tight. She always played with it absent minded, never really paying much attention to it, never quite forgetting it. Her stormy grey eyes matched the weather today, she could hear thunder rumbling above her, ready to let loose upon the world. She sighed as she stared out at the enormous forest she called a backyard.

 _3 months._ She thought to herself. _Surely after 3 months things would change, he would change._

It had been 3 months since the day she had said I do. I do promise to be faithful to my husband; I do promise to love him and respect him; I do promise to care for him in sickness and in health.

3 months since he had promised the exact same thing; some promises, however, are more difficult to keep. For example how can one keep a promise of love if there was never any love to begin with?

A strong breeze made the young woman shudder and hug herself tight, she took one last look at the grey sky before stepping back inside. She plopped onto her bed and lay down, running her hand through her long blonde hair. Annabeth turned her head to look at the picture on her nightstand, it was of her and her best friend; Thalia. Thalia had died right before the wedding, she was the only one telling Annabeth not to go through with it. She was the only one that understood; yet with her only supporter gone what was Annabeth to do?

If she refused to marry her parents would disown her, if she refused it was more than likely that her mother-in-law would have her killed. You may be wondering what kind of person would do that? A monster, that's who. Annabeth's family was one of the most successful drug cartels in the east coast, well her father was. Her mother had left them when she was only three, off to become a renowned lawyer. What are the odd's that a lawyer would marry a criminal? The truth is he wasn't a crook before her mother left, Annabeth's father did what he had to do in order to maintain them and survive; soon he got lost in the taste of power and wealth. And that's where the Kraken lady comes into the story.

The Castellan Clan was one of the most powerful groups in the slave trade, they had no regard for human life. When May Castellan heard about Frederick Chase's daughter turning of age, she had the brilliant idea to unite the two most powerful families together. Of course Annabeth's father agreed without her consent, and now here she was.

Mrs. Luke Castellan, one of the most miserable persons alive. Luke himself wasn't bad, he was good to her. He was very handsome, even with the long scar on the left side of his face. He stood at 6 ft 2, with broad shoulders and a good athletic build. He had mischievous electric blue eyes that made her blush, his short blond hair made them pop. There were times when Annabeth felt like she could fall for him, of course she could she was the naive 19 year old college student and he was the devilishly handsome 21 year old hottie. He was kind to her, and cared about her; as she did about him. Yet neither one of them loved the other, and they both knew it. They were just pawn's in their parents game to take control of the illegal industry. A game that had cost her her freedom, her education, her career, her life.

She had always dreamed of becoming an architect, and revolutionizing the world with her ideas. Yet the kraken refused to let her leave the property, she claimed it wasn't right for her to be out and about, when she should be at home ready to receive her husband. She really was old fashioned.

A loud bang at the door startled Annabeth, "Who is it?" She called out, propping herself up on an elbow.

"Who else would it be you idiot?!" Shrieked the kraken behind the door. Annabeth suppressed a groan.

"It's open." She answered laying back down.

In hobbled a small woman, she walked with a cane and a scowl. The only time she smiled is when people kneeled before her and begged for their life. "What are you doing?!" She shouted outraged. "It's your 3 month anniversary! You should be preparing to welcome home your husband! Not lying around like a lazy cow!"

Annabeth sat up immediately and glared at her, "Excuse me, but I wouldn't be just lying around if I was allowed to anything aside from being at Luke's beck and call. Also I don't see what's so important about today, we both know Luke isn't coming today or tomorrow or ever. If you weren't such a control freak maybe he wouldn't be like this, incompetent!"

"You dare to blame this on me you insignificant little girl?! Maybe if you did your job as a women, I would have a grand child on the way. What you need to do is fix yourself up and do what your supposed to do." The kraken bellowed.

"I'm supposed to be living my life, not be trapped in here the 24 hours of the day!" Annabeth screamed standing up off the bed.

The old woman glared at her, "You are to do as expected of you and I don't want to hear another word out of you. You've been warned." She said exiting the room, slamming the door behind her.

Annabeth balled her fists at her side, and paced angrily. Sometimes she felt it would be better if they just killed her, at least she wouldn't be miserable anymore.

The hours passed and the dark soon came, bringing along a heavy storm. Annabeth lay in her bed, fast asleep. The steady patter of the rain soothing to her, the thunder and lighting not bothering her in the least; it seemed she felt most at ease in the middle of a storm, at least then she knew the only one with problems.

The bed shifted as another body slipped under the sheets, wrapping an arm around the sleeping woman's waist. Annabeth frowned in her sleep, slowing waking to a semi-conscious state. "Luke?" She mumbled.

Her response was a peck on the shoulder and a soft "Mhm."

She snuggled into her pillow once more, "What are you doing here?" She asked with a sleep filled whisper.

She didn't hear anything, instead she felt slow kisses trailing along her neck and up her jaw. She slowly turned around and opened her eyes, it was pitch black. She couldn't see much except for the occasional flash of light outside. "Are you sure?" she asked sheepish. They had tried many times, but never gotten anywhere, and the next day was filled with snapping and door slamming, everybody was in a bad mood taking the blame or blaming someone else, when in truth it was nobody's fault. She always felt bad for Luke afterward though, he had to deal with his mother belittling him, Annabeth never held anything against Luke, but he could never look her in the eye for the next few days out of embarrassment.

"Yeah." Came the soft whisper. Annabeth felt soft lips press against hers, there was something different tonight. The kiss was soft at first, hesitant; but it soon grew into a passionate and almost ravenous embrace. She felt a fire spread along her body wherever his skin came into contact with hers. The young man felt a desire he did not expect, the instant he had touched her he yearned for more. As the fire grew, they both forgot their problems for the moment; she the life that was taken from her, he the life he would forever be ruining once she turned on the light.

 **A/N So? What'd you think, it is a rather short chapter, the first few ones will be, simply because that's just how they were planned out in order to build up and set the plot. Things will pick up and get lengthier with time. But hey shorter chapters means faster updates right? Anyway I hope I've captured your attention and you'll stick around for the rest of the story. Til next time!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Alrighty, here's the next chapter, I hope you like it.**

Chapter 2

The thunder roared outside, lightning cracked across the sky, and rain poured down from above. Inside the quiet room, lay a young man awake in bed. A beautiful woman resting on his chest. He heart sank as each second passed, _soon._ He told himself, soon she would see who he truly was, soon he would destroy a young woman's life; all to save his own. Just thinking about it his stomach churned, _maybe it would have been better had I just let them kill me._

Maybe it would have been better, but it was too late now. What was done is done, and nothing he could ever do would undo that. And that weighed heavy on his chest. He flinched at every rumble of the thunder afraid that it would wake up the sleeping woman and bring her to realize the horrible reality she lived in.

 _I should leave now, while she's still asleep. She can live her life ignorant to what has occurred and save herself the pain of living with the truth. And I can save myself a little bit of guilt, or perhaps take on some more leaving her like this. Clueless about what horrible place she lives in, about what the people here are capable of. After all, those were my instructions._

He gently and carefully lifted Annabeth off of him and laid her down away from him on the bed, he slowly wiggled out from under the covers careful not to wake her up and began dressing himself.

"Luke?" A soft voice behind him spoke, "What are you doing?"

 _Shit._

* * *

Down in the front of the house, a young man quietly closed the door behind him. He took off his soaked coat and tossed it aside, he was exhausted and chilled to the bone. All he wanted was a hot shower and to go to bed, of course that was too much to ask.

"Luke!" A raspy voice whispered angrily. "What time is this to be getting home? You should have been here hours ago!"

"My flight was delayed I was stuck at the airport for 3 hours. I am tired and soaked, I'm going to bed." He answered tiredly.

"And what about your wife?"

Luke sighed, "What about her? She's asleep and there's no point in me waking her up for no reason, because we all know nothing is going to happen."

"You are such a disgrace, you can't even complete the most basic step of marriage." The old woman spat. "I knew you weren't going to be a man, so I took it upon myself to see that the job is done."

This surprised the young man, "What do you mean?"

* * *

Annabeth sat up in bed and crawled to the edge, "Luke?" as she was about to get off the bed an unfamiliar voice pleaded, "Stop!"

"Please stay there."

Terror filled Annabeth as realization hit her, the man that stood before her was not her husband, but a complete stranger. Her first instinct was to grab the cover and hug herself tight, trying to shield herself from him. She wanted to scream, she wanted to shout for help, but her voice failed her. Her whole body seemed to be shutting down. Her eyes welled up, and all she could do was focus on her breathing.

Eventually she regained control and spoke, "Who are you?" Out of all the things to do in that moment, out of all the things to say, that is what first came out of her mouth.

A long sigh escaped the young man, his heart seemed to have completely sunk to the bottom of his stomach, making him want to puke. "I-I...I can explain."

Rage boiled inside of Annabeth, she wanted to lunge at the dark figure and strangle him with her own two hands. "Explain?! You want to explain?! And what exactly would that be? How you snuck into my home, into my room, and then into my bed? All while knowing that I thought you were my husband?! Huh?!"

"I know you have no reason to listen to me, in fact you should be killing me right now; but I swear to you it's not how you think. It's just not going to be easy to hear." The young man put his hands up to show he wasn't going to hurt her... at least not any more than he already had. He slowly turned around and faced the wide eyes of the angel he had clipped.

Annabeth squinted through the darkness, but she couldn't see anything but his outline. The occasional flash of lightning did nothing in regards of helping her see her attacker. She reached for the lamp on the night stand, "No!" the man shouted, startling Annabeth; she hugged herself tighter and scooted as far away on the bed as she could.

"Sorry, shit. I- I didn't mean to...it's just that...I just- please don't turn on the light." He couldn't stand to have her see him, it was selfish of him. He knew it, she deserved to know who he was, who had done this to her, she deserved a face to the monster that ruined her life. But he couldn't do it, he couldn't give that to her, because after everything he didn't want to see the hate on her face for him. "Please listen, things aren't what they seem, you're not safe in this house." He stated as softly as possible, what followed next was going to destroy her.

"Obviously." Annabeth spat, hugging the cover tight.

"Think about it!" He pleaded urgently, "Truly think about where and who you live with. Do you really think that someone could just walk in? Just like that?! You live in one of the most heavily guarded places aside from Fort Knox, could anyone really get this far in?" He slowly laid it out, letting her think about what he was saying.

"Well you're here aren't you?" She snapped not following.

"Yes... unfortunately." He added on saddly, startling Annabeth. How could he sound so broken when he had just broken her?

"But that's just the thing, I never would have managed anything like this- and I didn't." He stated, nervously glancing at the door. "Look long story short, my life has gone to hell. The people I thought were my friends stabbed me in the back, I've lost my family, my name, my life. When I was trying to run away to a safe place, I stumbled into this property, obviously the guards didn't believe I wanted nothing here, I was just trying to get somewhere else. They brought me in and took me to the owner of the house, some small little evil lady."

Annabeth clung to her cover, she knew she shouldn't be listening, she should be calling the cops, screaming for help, doing something aside from waiting for the man in front of her to continue.

"She ordered the men to shoot me, as she was leaving I told her I'd give her anything if she let me go. And...that's when she said I had to give her a grandchild."

The blood drained from Annabeth's face as she realized what he had said.

* * *

"You did what?!" Luke shouted appalled. "How could you?! Why, mother, why?!" He paced back and forth in front of the fireplace in the study, his mind struggling to comprehend what the old hag in front of him had just said. He knew she was no saint, for Gods' sake her ordering to kill was a daily part of the family business. But to do that to him?! To her own son?!

"People are beginning to talk! We need for her to at least appear to be pregnant for a while, people need to see that this family is strong and will continue the business for generations!" The small figure of evil hissed. "Who cares if the first child isn't yours, you only need to pretend it is until you have one of your own. Then we can get rid of the little bastard and nobody will be the wiser."

"Are you even listening to yourself?! Do you know how insane you sound?! What you plan is crazy and not to mention improbable, the chances of her getting pregnant in one go are slim. You will have ruined her life for absolutely no reason!" Luke exclaimed.

"Ah but it does happen, and it can in this case too. She has absolutely no reason to find out, if the trespasser does as told he'll be in and out without her the wiser. And I'm certainly not going to tell her, are you?"

Luke paused in his pacing and glared at his mother with an intensity that should have melted her right there on the spot, but of course she was immune to the daggers being thrown her way. Nothing affected her, only power and money.

"And if she finds out?!"

"Then she better keep her trap shut if she knows what's good for her." She threatened. In that moment Luke realized he was too late anyway, fighting with his mother was useless. It was most likely the deed was done; he plopped down into a chair and rubbed his temples.

"You're demented." He murmured exhausted. He only hoped, for her sake, she never found out.

* * *

Fast, steady, and quiet tears poured down Annabeth's cheeks. She wanted to scream at the stranger that he was a liar. He was lying to protect himself, but a large part of her told her that it was incredibly possible, given who her mother-in-law was. She didn't want to believe it, but she found herself accepting the story she had been given. She still hated the man in front of her, he was a coward who had saved his own skin; but she hated even more the monster that slept a few doors down. Her body began to shake, she didn't know if it was from her tears or from the anger inside of her, but she felt ready to explode.

"And the worst part is that I just realized I'm a dead man anyway, she's not going to release me." He whispered. Annabeth glanced to the door and just like him felt that there were multiple guards waiting outside the door ready to take him and get rid of their tool. "I should've let them kill me in the beginning, I could have at least died with my dignity. An-And without having...without doing this to you." His voiced ended in a soft and broken whisper.

"Bathroom." Annabeth mumbled.

"What?" He looked at her confused.

"The bathroom," she repeated louder, "it has a window next to vines along the wall, you can climb them down and head towards the back wall at the end of the forest. There's less security there at this time of night."

The young man looked at her stunned, "Wh-why are you helping me?" He asked astonished that after everything she would still give him a way out.

She shrugged staring blankly out the window, "I don't know." she whispered. She could still feel the tears roll down her face, but the rest of her had gone numb. "I suppose I simply can't give her the satisfaction." The door knob jiggled, both their heads whipped in the direction of the sound.

"Go." she stated emotionless. He looked at the beautiful creature in front of him, her sad eyes engraving themselves into his memory, forever there to haunt him.

"I'm-thank you." He whispered, knowing saying he was sorry meant nothing, not after what he had done. He quickly headed to the back where the bathroom was and straight to the largest window. Opening it he saw that sure enough, there were vines growing along the wall, right next to the window. With one final glance back towards the room that will forever define the rest of his life, he climbed out the window and disappeared into the stormy night. Running for his life, running as fast as he could; as if he could somehow run fast enough to leave this behind him. "You will never live this down Percy Jackson." He murmured to himself.

Annabeth hadn't moved an inch from where she had been sitting on the bed, it was another five minutes before she heard the jiggle of the knob again. The door was locked, they had locked it from the outside to ensure he didn't leave, but soon they would open it and barge in, expecting to find their puppet. But he would be gone.

Lightning flashed once more, reflecting on the band on her finger. Something snapped inside of Annabeth in that moment, whether that be her sanity, her innocence, or something else altogether was hard to say. But her eyes hardened and she swallowed the lump in her throat. She yanked the ring off her finger, holding it tightly in a closed fist. She stared out the window for a long time before getting up from the bed and going outside to stand in the pouring rain. She let the cold water drench her, and wash away what it could. But the damage was done, and nothing was ever going to take that away. She closed her eyes and turned her face up to the sky.

She felt the cold drops slide down her skin, almost stinging in the places she had felt warm not so long ago. She could still feel where he had gripped her arms and trailed her figure; it made her skin crawl. Her tears had blended with the rain, she wiped her face with one hand, and brought the other up within eyesight.

She slowly opened it and stared at the wedding ring in it for quite some while, then without even thinking, she extended her open palm over the balcony and titled her hand ever slightly. The ring fell off and down it went, hitting the hard cold ground, just like she had. She had fallen off her cloud, and what a fall it was. She hugged herself, once more and glared out at the vast property before her. "Goodbye."

 **A/N So there it is, I hope to have the next chapters within the next two weeks. So until then my friends!**


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